The present invention relates to an information processing system, an information processing apparatus and method, a program, and a recording medium. More particularly, the invention relates to an information processing system, an information processing apparatus and method, a program, and a recording medium that are designed to surely provide optimum information to users in a public environment for example.
Recently, researches have been going on into personalizing systems that are intended to personalize the information being shown on a display device arranged in a public environment (or a public place) known as a situated display for users approaching to the display device, thereby providing information suitable for users.
For example, Non-Patent Document 1 (“Personal Mobility Through Situated Displays”, Intel Research, Santa Clara, Calif. 95054) shown below proposes a method that, while emphasizing the necessity for personal servers, allows reading of personal information from a personal server and displaying the read personal information onto a situated display, thereby providing the viewing of personal information not on small-sized mobile terminals but on the display devices that are comfortable enough for viewing and operation.
Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-140632) proposes a method in which, in accordance with the distance between the display device and the user, an image shown on the display device is zoomed in or out, for example. However, because this method zooms in or out an image shown on the display device simply in accordance with the distance between display device and user regardless of who the user is, it cannot be said, to be precise, that the image shown on the display device is personalized in accordance with users.
With currently practiced personalizing systems, users are each given an RF (Radio Frequency) tag and the distance between display and user is detected by RF communication to determine whether the user is in the proximity of the display.
However, because the detection of the distance by the RF communication by use of the RF tag is based on the transfer intensity of induction field, it is difficult to detect the distance between user and display with stability and accuracy.
Namely, because the transfer intensity of induction field is subject to change due to various factors, such as an environment in which wireless radio communication is executed, for example, it has been difficult to accurately detect the range.
Therefore, user's standing position cannot be identified precisely, which makes it inevitable to personalize the image on the display in accordance with only an approximate standing position.
This may personalize an image on the display also when the user simply passes in the proximity of the display without looking at the image.
In addition, when a plurality of displays are arranged, devices for detecting the distances between the user and the devices must be arranged with a space enough for preventing two or more different displays from displaying the same image for one user.
Given that the environment for example in which RF communication is executed does not change, the RF communication based on the RF tag forms a so-called multipath that complicates a mechanism for identifying the position of each user having the RF tag and requires the setting (or calibration) of the device for identifying the user position.
On the other hand, if, with a personalizing system, an image on the display is always personalized in accordance with each user approaching the display, the user may feel that he is always monitored, thereby disturbing his feeling.
For personalizing systems to provide the information suitable for users, it is necessary for users to provide their personal information to the systems. Namely, suppose that a device for providing user-suitable information obtained by personalizing the display on the display device of a personalizing system be called a service system, then the service system receives user-associated information from the RF tag of each user, selects the information suitable for the user from the received information, and displays the selected information, thereby personalizing the display on the display device.
However, with the RF tag, the information associated with the user stored in that RF tag is all provided to the service system, thereby making it difficult to limit the user-associated information to be provided to the service system. This also may make users feel always monitored, disturbing their feelings.